Pam Grier Biography

Fast Facts

• Partnering with the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum, she founded the Pam Grier Community Garden and Education Center
• Spends her free time rescuing and rehabilitating horses for a therapeutic riding program
• In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• In order to raise money for college tuition, she participated in various beauty contests in her youth
• Was discovered by director Jack Hill while working as a receptionist at American International Pictures
• Quote: "I get my personal fulfillment from theater; plays are where you can take chances and really work with the moment․"
• Quote: "I had to bump heads with a lot of men in the industry․ They were not comfortable with showing a progressive black female in an action role ․․․ As far as I was concerned, I thought: 'We don't need to walk behind you, we should walk beside you․'"
• Quote: "I can't talk about myself․ I just can't․ I know I've influenced people, and I'm proud of that․ But as I see it, I really haven't done anything․ I haven't saved anybody from a burning building․"
• Widely recognized as one of the first female action stars, she appeared in several notable roles in 1970s blaxploitation films like "Foxy Brown," "Coffy" and "Sheba, Baby․"
• Experienced a career revival in 1997 when Quentin Tarantino cast her as the title character in his film "Jackie Brown," the success of which led to her starring role as Kit Porter in "The L Word․"